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Cheyenne Frontier Days train is steaming back into the station

A Denver Post and Union Pacific Frontier Days special train crosses into Wyoming near Terry Ranch Road south of Cheyenne in this 2005 photo, with a herd of buffalo in the background. (Denver Post file)

"You give me a rodeo, I'll give you a train."

Dean Singleton, then-CEO and publisher of The Denver Post, made that declaration to organizers of Cheyenne Frontier Days years ago, and he's kept his promise. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the revival of the train whose history stretches back to 1908.

Tickets ($350) for this year's trip on July 23 are available through a lottery registration that is open Sunday through May 16, at cfdtrain.com. A lottery system, instituted in 2012 because of repeated sellouts, will be used, and new VIP seats in the luxury private cars are available for the first time at $1,200.

Returning this year after a three-year maintenance overhaul is the Union Pacific Railroad's steam locomotive 844, the last built for the UP in 1944 and never taken off its active roster.

It was in 1908 that Post co-owners Frederick Bonfils and Harry Tammen gathered up 100 friends and business associates for a day's outing to the Wyoming rodeo. It was a decidedly informal affair — the attendees were served lunch in a church basement and ate their evening meal in "public restaurants."

In following years, the annual excursion drew more than its share of celebrities. Wendell Willkie was aboard as the Republican presidential candidate in 1940. In 1960, vice presidential candidate Lyndon Johnson created a stir, shaking hands with everyone and waving his ten-gallon to the crowds. Hollywood film stars Fred MacMurray and Rex Allen rode the train.

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For 57 years, the train was a "must-do" for city and state politicians and prominent business figures. Late Mayor Bill McNichols, who rode several times, recalled, "It was a status symbol. Everybody looked forward to going on it."

But time and economics eventually conspired against the annual rite of summer.

The advent of Amtrak made it difficult for the Union Pacific to round up passenger equipment, and the newspaper's costs for 1,000 or so guests riding free (including breakfast and dinner and plenty of liquid refreshments) were getting out of hand.

Advertisers who were invited in the past felt it was their birthright to ride every year, and when they were excluded, they complained to the publisher. It became counterproductive as a sales tool. The last original excursion ran on July 21, 1970. There was no formal announcement of the train's demise; it simply disappeared.

Twenty-two years later, the Frontier Days Train was reborn, billed as the "Centennial Special." Gone were the rowdy all-male trips. In its place were families and fans that wanted another chance to ride the rails.

"It was something we could do to remind us of our 100-year history," remembers Singleton. "We thought, 'Let's bring back the train just one more time.' We had a wonderful time. It was so good we decided to do it again and again and again."

The "new" Frontier Days Train debuted on July 18, 1992, as part of the paper's 100th anniversary celebrations. For the first time, the public was able to purchase tickets, and it was a gala return.

As in the old days, there have been plenty of business leaders and politicians on board, including Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and Govs. Bill Ritter, Bill Owens and Roy Romer, and Mayor and Gov. John Hickenlooper, a devoted rail fan, who has ridden numerous times and has made the traditional call of "All Aboard!" more than once.

The Cheyenne Frontier Days Train, in affiliation with the MDC American Homes Foundation, is an event of the Denver Post Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which serves to improve and enrich the lives of those in our community by raising and distributing funds to metro-area and Colorado nonprofit agencies serving the areas of arts, youth, education and human services. Visit denverpostcommunity.com

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